Step 1

Step 2

Downward Phase: Shift your hips back and down. This will create a hinge-like movement at your knees. Continue to lower yourself until you feel your heels about to lift off the floor. Try to maintain a flat back by bending forward at the hips. Keep your head facing forward. Reach your arms directly behind you, keeping the elbows straight.

Step 3

Jumping Movement: With ONLY a very brief pause at the bottom of your downward phase, explode forward and upward through your lower extremity while throwing your arms overhead, fully extending your hips, knees and ankles. As your jump into the air, try to keep your feet level with each other.

Step 4

While in the air traveling forward pull your legs in front of you. Keep your feet next to each other in order to prepare for the landing. Your head should be over your shoulders. Your eyes are looking to the spot on the floor where you want to land.

Step 5

With your legs now in front of you and the feet parallel, prepare to land. Bend at the knees and hips to prepare to absorb the impact of the landing. Keep your eyes on the spot on the floor where you will land.

Step 6

Landing phase: Keep your feet parallel to each other and let the balls of the feet hit the ground first, quickly rolling the whole foot to the floor. Sink your weight back into your heels and hips. Use the rapid bending of the hips and knees to absorb the impact of the landing; do not land with a straight or hyper-extended knee as this could create an injury.

Step 7

Exercise Variation: Perform multiple jumps in a row, minimizing the amount of time on the ground. As soon as you land and absorb the forces in the legs and hips explode off the ground into the next jump.Your body will follow your eyes so be sure to look to the spot on the floor where you want to land and keep your legs and hips soft, ready to absorb the impact forces upon landing.